


unfinished RABusiness

by withasideofangst



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death, Character Turned Into a Ghost, Don't copy to another site, Gen, Ghost Regulus Black, Implied/Referenced Character Death, One Shot, Past Character Death, Regulus Black Dies, Regulus Black-centric, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:53:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21642499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/withasideofangst/pseuds/withasideofangst
Summary: "I came alone," Regulus' voice replied, still out of sight, "and I'm not here to kill you, brother. The Dark Lord doesn't even know I'm here."Sirius snorted."Then what, you're here because you finally realized you're in over your head?"There was a moment of silence, before an uncharacteristic snort."Oh yes, about six feet," Regulus muttered.---AKA, Regulus Black becomes a ghost, because he's got the definition of unfinished business.
Relationships: Regulus Black & Sirius Black, Sirius Black & James Potter
Comments: 18
Kudos: 422





	unfinished RABusiness

**Author's Note:**

> Just a short one-shot I needed to get out of my head so I could get back to the fic-exchange I'm doing for the holidays and then I need to get back to writing the sequel to Dimensional Misappropriation. (Sorry that's not out yet, work got crazy and then I was apartment hunting and I still haven't actually moved yet.)
> 
> Anyway, it's very short, but I wanted to share this with you all, and I hope you like it!
> 
> (And thanks to Sablesilverrain for catching my spelling mistakes. Anything left is my fault.)

Sirius clapped his best friend's shoulder in farewell as James turned back down the hallway, having half-dragged Sirius to his doorstep after an evening out.

He fumbled with his key for a moment before jiggling the door open, removing his cloak and tossing it over the back of the nearby armchair and tossing his key after it.

The door closed after him and he started towards the hall when a noise interrupted him.

"Sirius."

Sirius froze, then raised his wand quickly to point towards his kitchen, where the voice had come from, and he backed up towards his door again and threw it open without looking away.

"Prongs!" He shouted down the hall, and heard his friend's footsteps quickly pound back towards his door at the urgency in his voice.

When he entered, James raised his wand to match Sirius', while keeping an eye on the open doorway of the apartment too.

They heard an exasperated sigh from the kitchen.

"Where are your Death Eater buddies? Or did You-Know-Who send you to kill me alone?" Sirius demanded.

"I came alone," Regulus' voice replied, still out of sight, "and I'm not here to kill you, brother. The Dark Lord doesn't even know I'm here."

Sirius snorted.

"Then what, you're here because you finally realized you're in over your head?"

There was a moment of silence, before an uncharacteristic snort.

"Oh yes, about six feet," Regulus muttered, and Sirius exchanged a confused look with James.

"Regulus?" Sirius prompted after another moment of silence. A thread of concern flickered through him, in addition to his wariness now. This wasn't like his brother, proud to a fault like the rest of their family.

"I would say I'm unarmed and don't attack, but really... feel free," Regulus said cryptically, and then he floated directly through the wall, and Sirius' jaw dropped while James' eyes widened at the sight of the ghost.

"I would ask you to send Potter away to keep this in the family, but then... you consider him your brother over myself anyway," Regulus said, eyeing the pair of aurors, and there was a note of bitterness to his voice.

"What happened?" Sirius asked, picking his jaw off the floor and ignoring Regulus' commentary. Both he and James lowered their wands, seeing as their target was dead already.

"I betrayed the Dark Lord," Regulus' ghost replied, no trace of amusement in his voice, despite the wry smirk on his face. "I knew it would likely mean my death, but it was worth the price. He's gone too far, Siri, even by our family's standards."

"What, murdering muggles wasn't a clue? " Sirius shot back. "You were fine with that when you joined, so what finally changed your mind?"

Regulus sighed again, rubbing absently at his neck, and for the first time, the two aurors noticed claw marks and bruises in the shapes of fingers on the ghost's neck. Even for a ghost, he looked like he’d been put through the ringer, and then possibly drowned.

"Shut the door, and put up silencing spells," Regulus demanded. "The Dark Lord has done something far worse than use the Unforgivables. You know our family is dark, of course, but there are lines even we don't cross."

At Sirius' nod, James shut the door and cast the spells required to ensure no one could listen in on their conversation.

"Okay, what is it you're being so cryptic about?" Sirius demanded.

Regulus rubbed his neck again, looking resigned.

"What do either of you know about horcruxes?"


End file.
